New broadcast partners extend animated comedies to audiences across Europe, Africa, China and the UAE; Netflix reports millions of hours of accrued viewing across the streaming platform.
Academy Award-nominated French animation studio Xilam Animation has secured new global broadcasters for its popular animated titles Zig & Sharko and Karate Sheep, including new partners and renewals for both series.
Commissioned by French broadcaster Gulli, non-dialogue slapstick comedy series Zig & Sharko is Xilam’s most sold brand of 2023, with K+ Vietnam, Media Prima Malaysia now on board for the first seasons alongside renewals by series partners Netflix, Warner Bros Discovery (Africa and Italy), Viacom 18 (India), ERT (Greece), and RTL (Hungary). Following presales to VRT Belgium, Warner Bros Discovery (Italy), DeAgostini (Italy), and Viacom 18 (India), Season 4 of the 78 x 7’ series sold to Warner Bros. Discovery (France, Africa), DR (Denmark), NRK Super (Norway), Markiza (Slovakia), and ERT (Greece).
New partners for the CG animated comedy series Karate Sheep include Warner Bros Discovery (Italy), Sony (India), Youku (China), Nova (Czech Republic), and Etisalat (United Arab Emirates). Co-commissioned by Super RTL in Germany with Netflix, the 78 x 7’ series premiered on Super RTL in late 2022. Xilam holds second-window global linear TV distribution and merchandising rights for the series.
“Slapstick comedy series are at the heart of our offering at Xilam and have seen global popularity across generations due to fun-loving characters who embark on hilarious escapades,” said Xilam Animation founder and CEO Marc du Pontavice. “Zig & Sharko and Karate Sheep are some of our most well-loved brands, and it’s fantastic to have new and returning broadcast partners on board to bring these joyful adventures to audiences everywhere. We’re also proud to see such strong performances on Netflix from our series, including the family favorite co-viewing franchise Oggy Oggy and Oggy and the Cockroaches: Next Generation, that underscores the enduring popularity of these brands globally.”
Xilam shared data from the report “What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report,” published by Netflix, covering the first half of 2023. It notes that Zig & Sharko Seasons 2 and 3 garnered 40 million hours of views with Karate Sheep accruing 20 million in the first four months after its launch. The preschool spin-off to the Oggy and the Cockroaches franchises, Oggy Oggy, had its first two seasons viewed for 14.4 million hours, and Oggy and the Cockroaches: Next Generation saw 19 million hours.
Source: Xilam Animation
Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.
